NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2019 38 Consultation Submissions as Part of the Preventive Work Legislation in accordance with human rights standards is a pre-condition for preventing torture and inhuman treatment of people deprived of their liberty. This year, we have made several consultation submissions on draft legislation proposals and other guidelines from central government authorities, which affect the conditions for people who have been deprived of their liberty and who are subjected to coercion. Consultation submissions are an important measure to ensure adequate legislative processes and strong legal safeguards for people who have been deprived of their liberty. Our ­consultation ­submissions are based on findings and ­experiences from the visits we have conducted under the national prevention mandate to date. In 2019, we submitted four consultations covering several sectors under the NPM mandate. Inadequate evaluation of rules on the use of coercion in child welfare institutions The Parliamentary Ombudsman made a ­consultation submission in July on the then Ministry of Children and Equality's draft of a new Child Welfare Act.1 Our comments concerned the proposal to create further legislation for child welfare institutions. We pointed out that it was generally positive that the draft legislation proposal clarified the rights children and young persons have during stays in ­institutions. However, we called for a more detailed ­assessment of the proposals on children’s rights and the use of coercion in light of Norway's human rights ­obligations. We recommended that the Ministry undertake a new assessment of the current ­regulation ­regarding rights and the use of coercion in child welfare institutions.2 The a ­ ssessment should be based on Norway’s human rights obligations, with reference to international legal developments. It should also be assessed whether the existing regulations are practised as intended. We also pointed out that the current rules on the use of coercion are not always complied with in practice, which indicated a need for clarification of the legislation. Findings from our visits indicate that lack of ­compliance may be due to misinterpretations of the regulations. 1 The Parliamentary Ombudsman's consultation submission on the draft new child welfare act, 22 July 2019. Read the whole consultation submission here: https://www.sivilombudsmannen.no/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ Sivilombudsmannens-h%C3%B8ringsuttalelse-om-forslag-til-ny-barnevernlov.pdf 2 Regulation on the Rights of Children in Institutionalized Childcare (Rights Regulation).